E3 Wishlist 2016



Choo, choo! It is that time again when the E3 hype train leaves the station. Last year really raised the game for future offerings - Shenmu 3, The Last Guardian, Mass Effect Andromeda, Horizon: Zero Dawn and EA taking a chance with Unravel and winning all our hearts with developer Martin Sahlin shaking on stage with his hand tattoos and Yarny doll. It is going to take a lot to beat that moment for me!

So, as we wait another week for the show to kick off, I’m going to run down what I hope to see at E3 2016.


Horizon: Zero Dawn (Guerilla Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Alongside Unravel, Horizon was my favourite game to come out of E3 2015. It captured my imagination with it’s beautiful design, interesting character development and was great to see developer, Guerrilla, pushing themselves beyond their comfort level. I saw a dev playthrough at Gamescom last year and it had been tailored since the E3 debut; so this year I am hoping for another taster and a release date!



Vampyr (Dontnod Entertainment/Focus Home Interactive)
Life is Strange cemented my respect for Dontnod as a company, it honestly appears as if they want to make a certain game. You better believe they will go out there and make it! You would think after the success of LiS that Dontnod would stick to the episodic style of game creation; however they presented Vampyr instead - a RPG based on the inner turmoil of a doctor who is turned into a vampire during the Spanish Flu epidemic in London, 1918. So worlds away from the style and game design of previous games! This bravado and chance alone makes me want to try the game - so hoping for a new trailer. 


Detroit: Become Human (Quantic Dream/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
As someone who is quite fond of cyberpunk storytelling, I was very excited to see Quantic release the teaser trailer for Detroit. I personally enjoyed Beyond: Two Souls, however I hope they include some new gameplay ideas rather than a carbon copy of Beyond’s. I also wish, as a medium, it builds on the success of Ex Machina and its ideologies without becoming ‘just a game version of the film’. Hoping to see a new trailer and maybe a release date.  


Cyberpunk: 2077 (CD Projekt RED/CD Projekt)
Okay, I know it has already been mentioned that nothing will be shown at E3 2016, but a girl can hope right?


Rise of the Tomb Raider for PS4 (Crystal Dynamics/Microsoft/Square Enix)
I know even if we have details being released during E3 week, we won’t have anything flashy and probably won’t be a part of any conference. But to be honest, I’ll just be happy with a date please so I can book off work...


Remaster of the original Mass Effect Trilogy (Bioware/EA)
Although all eyes will be on Mass Effect Andromeda, I’m still holding out hope for a remaster of the original trilogy for current gen systems. Especially as the PS4 and Xbox One are now the norm for console gamers. However I am now getting slightly worried that the majority of my E3 wishlist are timesink RPG titles! 


Xbox One.5/PS4 Neo
It has been mused for the past few months that we will soon see a new ‘half-style console’. So while it is not a depart from the current generation, the new consoles are more than the typical updates we’ve seen in the past - size, storage etc. I personally don’t feel we have had the PS4 and Xbox One long enough to warrant another system arriving on the market - especially as the PS3 and Xbox 360 held, and in some respects are still holding on, tightly to a segment of the gaming population. I do wonder if the general populous will invest in another system so soon and I worry for the likes of PlayStationVR, which is obviously why a higher spec console needed to be released to help provide longevity for the VR system. Nevertheless, I am interested to see how they fare and what will be announced.  


The Last of Us 2 (Naughty Dog/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
As with Cyberpunk 2077, it is highly unlikely that we will see Naughty Dog present a potential second installment to The Last of Us while Uncharted 4 is still riding high. Nevertheless, wouldn’t it be great to just get a teeny, little tidbit of a mention? Not a teaser trailer or even a gif...just a little mention in someone’s interview.

Other than the ones mentioned above, I’m looking forward to seeing more about ‘The Turing Test’, ‘Black to Fall’ and hopefully some more new IPs and maybe a few surprises along the way! Until then, start stocking up on snacks and book that hype train ticket.

Oh and please, no Pele this year...

For more information on upcoming games at E3 2016, Chloe Dykstra discusses 30 games in 5 minutes over on Inside Gaming! 

Vegan Tomb Raider Cosplay

(LauraElizaCosplay Facebook)
(Very excited to share Tangled Wires first guest blog post by the excellent cosplayer - Laura Eliza. As veganism is becoming more popular as a lifestyle choice, it is interesting to see how vegan cosplayers, such as Laura, are able to recreate accurate costumes without using animal products. Disclaimer - Views in this blogpost are not necessarily the views of myself)

I’ve been cosplaying since late 2012 and I’ve been a vegan since 2014. Before that, I was a vegetarian for four years and didn’t use animal hides back then, either, so I’ve been animal-free products the whole time I’ve been a cosplayer. I don’t use leather, fur, feathers, suede, wool or silk – any product that comes from an animal living or dead. How, then, do I manage to cosplay the likes of Lara Croft?

There are plenty of alternatives available which are guilt-free and far cheaper to use for your crafts. For my weapon holsters, I use a combination of high quality textured vinyl, faux leather and foam, sewing with extra strength polyester thread. Clothing is usually fairly straightforward as vests are often cotton, polyester and elastane, all animal-free. Coats can be difficult to source – in Rise of the Tomb Raider (2015) Lara wears a red padded jacket at the start of the game and it took me a long time to source one that wasn’t feather filled. Boots can also be challenging to find – in the 2013 and 2015 rebooted games Lara wears ‘Timberland Charles St’ boots, which are real leather. They are a discontinued line and Timberland don’t do a synthetic alternative, so I had to find some synthetic leather boots which looked similar in style and add the top four speed lace hooks, darker laces and heel buckles myself. When looking for items try lots of different keywords – e.g. ‘brown combat boot, brown army boot, brown buckle boot, brown lace boot’.


Rise Holster Construction (LauraElizaCosplay Facebook)
I have been asked a couple of times when wearing my Lara cosplays about the ‘leather’ components, with people being very surprised that they are synthetic as they look so convincing. Some faux leather can look cheap and plastic-like but the vinyl I use is textured and grooved with an irregular pattern which looks like genuine animal hide, at a fraction of the monetary and environmental cost! It doesn’t smell and it’s easy to work with – I have a small sewing machine built for lightweight fabrics and I’m able to work with the vinyl and faux leather on this machine.

If you’d like more tips and tricks, or you’d like to know a bit more about my vegan lifestyle, please follow me on social media provided below. I also have an Etsy shop, ‘Earthcraft Emporium’, where I sell my handmade vegan friendly costume pieces, accessories and jewellery.

- Laura Eliza Cosplay

Tumblr, Facebook, Etsy, Twitter, Instagram

CosDown 2: Attending Your First Convention

MCM London Comic Con May 2013
MCM London 2016 is fast approaching and cosplayers new and experienced are working hard on their costumes in these final, precious days. I attended my first convention in 2013, travelling down to London with my Lara Croft Reborn costume. I was so excited I didn’t sleep for odd nights the week before MCM London, staying up all night watching Sneaky Zebra videos and Lara Croft make up tutorials on YouTube. I fondly remember one night, creeping downstairs, grabbing a bag of HulaHoops and a glass of Ribena, before sneaking back up again to watch an extended Dragon*Con cosplay music video!

However I was also extremely nervous. Despite doing dance and drama for a good chunk of my life, the years previous were a cyclone of books and academia. I hadn’t explicitly put myself out, with an aim to stand out, within a public sphere for a good few years. I had seen that people liked to take photos, but I had shied away from anyone taking a photo since my late teens. What if my costume broke? What if people don’t appreciate the new version of Lara instead of the old? Most of these worries ended up just as pre-con nerves, so here are seven tips to help your first con go as best as it can.

Remember to eat and drink.
This is so important, however I have seen so many cosplayers skip meals because they are busy or don’t want to spill food on their costume. Conventions are strenuous times so make an effort to take a ‘lunch hour’. Convention food is expensive and not the best, so see what is around the radius of the convention centre. Trust me, you will not be the only one in costume! You can also take a picnic or small snack food in a tote bag and sit in the designated areas. These are also fantastic times to people watch and look at people’s costumes as they walk past. In the evening, if you are short on money, there are many meals you can rustle up with just a kettle. Yes, they may not be the best nutritionally, but for a night or a weekend, you’ll be okay. Remember you can always buy a bag of spinach or tinned sweetcorn for veg and tins of tuna are great for protein that can heat up with water from a kettle. Pots of instant noodles are a godsend!

Your costume always has the potential to break.
The unfortunate truth is that every cosplayer will have a costume break on them. I had just walked into the convention hall of my first con and the leg strap on my holster pinged off. Don’t rely on the convention having a repair station, a few do not, and those that do may not have what you need. Pack yourself a little repair kit - superglue, thread and needle, duct tape, hot glue gun and anything costume specific that you can keep at the hotel and/or a mini version to put in your bag. The main thing is, don’t let it bring you down. This happens, it is okay! Don’t let it ruin your day.

You will have your photograph taken.
By attending the event, you are consenting to being part of press documentation as you are within the public domain, even if you are not stopped by a photographer. If this bothers you, do not attend. Being in cosplay, automatically makes you more visible to photographers, in particular if you are cosplaying a popular or recent iteration of a character. The best thing to do, is practise a few poses at home, to see what works best and what you are most comfortable with. Then, when you are at the convention it is one thing less to worry about. However you are also within your rights to refuse or stop any photography if you feel uncomfortable. In particular, people should not be taking photos while you are eating or resting.

Sorry I don't know who the other cosplayer is :( (MCM London May 2013) - Spot the broken holster!

 Not everything great needs to be booked and/or ticketed.
Conventions are now more than just the main event, there are fringe meet ups, discos, shows and screenings to name a few. Many of these have a ticket fee, however do not feel pressured into attending these to get the ‘full convention experience’, often, the unschedule and random events are the moments that make a convention. A good example, for over 18s, is the Fox at the Excel in London. A small pub on the convention grounds that has become the go-to place for cosplayers. Nothing happens as such, but the memories of Superman, Wonder Woman and Commander Shepard eating burgers and nachos while slowly piling up discarded pieces of costumes will last a last time. A good rule of thumb is if there is something you specifically want to go to, do it! But don’t feel like you need to go.

Talk to other cosplayers.
If you think someone’s costume looks great or want to know how they made it? Ask them! It means the world when someone gets complimented on their hard work, you’ll find out how it feels when someone says it to you; so keep those good vibes flowing!

Be prepared to queue and wait.
We don’t call them queue cons for nothing. For the popular, larger conventions you can spend a great deal of time standing, waiting. If you know that the costume you will cause you pain or extreme discomfort. Perhaps leave it for another time. It will only make you miserable and tire a lot quicker. Otherwise, popular things to bring along is a 3DS, Cards Against Humanity or a simple good conversation to pass time. If you can, and going for the weekend, go the day, towards closing time, and you should be able to walk straight up to get your band. This is great for those who are working the Friday and may mean not having to book as much time off.

Bring a bag and/or bag buddy.
We’ve all done it. We don’t want a bag to ruin the look of our costume as we sashay into the convention hall. Then end up with phones, cameras and empty wrappers in a carrier bag alongside that plushie you just bought. Tote bags are fantastic for this, and you can often get them in geeky designs or even to match your costume. They will hold all your food, water, repair kit, top-up make up etc. Just throw to the side when you are having your photo took. Another idea is to build pockets  and storage into costumes; I had most of my stuff in my quiver and just some money to hand in my trouser pocket. If you are super lucky, you might have a bag buddy. Often the poor sods who tag along but don’t cosplay are honoured this role! If they are willing, then feel free, however never expect them to just carry your stuff and make sure to show your gratitude at the end of the day/weekend.

And finally, just have fun! Conventions are playgrounds for all things geeky. Don’t take them too seriously, enjoy yourself and time with friends and your first convention will go absolutely fine :)

If you have any first convention questions or worries, feel free to leave a comment below or tweet me @lady_scion and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

El Camino Bracelet Review

 ca·mi·no - {noun} - way · route · bypath · road· path · track · trail
As someone who loves travelling, I am always attracted to anything that can be used as a documentation of wanderlust. So I was very excited when an advert popped up in my Facebook stream about a bracelet where I could wear all my travels on my wrist. The company, El Camino, is based in the UK and is the brainchild of two travellers who thought how cool would it be to sit around a campfire and compare travels? I can’t help but agree with my bracelet sparking conversation among both peers and strangers. It is certainly nice when having a bad day or struggling through work to look down and feel inspired about where I have been and dream about where I can go next.

So what are the bracelets? I will admit, I was surprised when it came through the post as I was expecting just a general braided cotton band. However, the cotton used is something I have never felt before! I can only describe it as a bonded flexible metal cotton; it is certainly very durable so will withstand constant wear and submersion in water. I bought the size that related to my wrist, however for new buyers I would recommend buying the next size up to provide a little wiggle room when compiling the bracelet with beads.

The beads are made from hand polished surgical grade stainless steel by a local metalsmith to the El Camino company. As with the bracelets, the beads are very durable but will age beautifully over the years. Each are engraved with either a country or what is described as a ‘small step’, for example New York, Paris or Ankor Wat. These are great for people who have been to a popular location, though don’t feel like they can say they have experienced the country as a whole. For example I bought a New York bead as there are many more places in the USA I want to visit before I can feel like I have experienced a chunk of America life. The small steps are a thinner bead than the traditional country steps, which add a nice visual dimension to a collection. You can also personalise a bead, something I am definitely doing when I get to San Diego Comic Con or Dragon Con some time in the future, as that would be a special trip for me. Each of the beads also come with coconut spacers which are not only a sustainable resource but add a nice rustic touch to the stainless steel country beads.

The final beads to discuss are the glass region beads. These again are handmade in the UK and each represent a continent or specific region in the world, such as the Caribbean. They are nicely weighty and inject a bit of colour, if that is what you want, into your bracelet. You can treat and read these anyway you like; my friend who I introduced El Camino to bought an Europe bead, as that is her home continent, and an Asia one because she feels as though she has covered most of Asia and is ready to concentrate on a different continent. I just have the Asia bead as although I have been there a few times, it is still the area that I want to travel to more and where I feel most at home. So for me, the region beads are more placeholders and inspiration for the country beads to follow. 


How you build up a bracelet is completely up to the individual. You could have one bracelet that was all your solo travel and have a new one once you get married and start with a honeymoon bead. Or if you travel as part of your job, you could mark all your achievements with a bead. You could start with your first destination after buying the bracelet or create a backlog of where you have been. I have started from my teenage years, as that was when I realised I wanted to travel as much as I could in the future. So although I have been to Australia, I was three years old so I won’t add that bead until I go back again. Oh what an excuse! ;) No matter what, each and every piece tells your own adventure story, so create it however you deem suitable.

I am very happy to have found El Camino, I have always loved the idea of Pandora bracelets, but as well as being expensive, they were never really to my taste. It is also sometimes difficult to pick up charms from countries for my traditional charm bracelet. El Camino therefore fits nicely into that little niche where it blends nicely into the bracelets I pick up along the way and is also something to look forward to when I get home. Admittedly, it can be expensive to start up with a bracelet and a few beads, I think I spent around £70 on my first order. However, the beads only work out as £8.99 for the country steps, £8.49 for a small step and £10.99 for a region step, so are much cheaper than traditional charms and make great affordable gifts for traveller friends. All the beads arrive in a sealed bag with a little tear nook so that they don’t get scratched in transit. The bracelets come in a cloth bag which is great for storage. All of these come in a bubble envelope with the cutest freebie ever, this little airplane paperclip! So handy for attaching landing cards to passports or just to brighten your desk!



So if you want to find out more about El Camino you can read their story here or take a look what is on offer here. You can also follow El Camino on Twitter and Instagram where there are some great pictures from fans and a very helpful team for any questions you may have. Also they have a competition to win a bracelet on their Facebook page at the moment :)

Mebon - Ankor Wat Cambodia (Image by Christiane Kempf)


This review has not been sponsored and is not an ad, I bought all the beads and bracelet myself. I was so impressed by the quality and reaction to the bracelet that I thought I would write a review.
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